RELATIVES of a man who drowned at a pontoon pier beneath a bridge over Khlong Dao Khanong canal, Charoen Nakhon Road, are suspicious about his death as he worked as a goldsmith in Saudi Arabia for decades and always wore a large diamond ring which is now missing, Sanook.com said today (Dec. 4)
Pol. Capt. Sutta Inkaew, a deputy inspector at Bang Kho Laem police station, was alerted of a man having drowned at this pontoon pier and went there to investigate together with a forensic doctor from Siriraj Hospital and volunteers of Ruamkatanyu Foundation.
Found floating face down next to the jetty was Mr. Suwat (surname withheld), 73, and on him was a black wallet holding his ID card and almost 10,000 baht in cash.
Upon being informed of his death, Ms Arunrat, 44, his niece, told police that her uncle worked in Saudi Arabia as a goldsmith and diamond sorter from a young age till his retirement, after which he returned to Thailand.
He lived in the Wong Wian Yai area and lately had started suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and became forgetful.
He was a kind-hearted man and everyday would go to feed fish and usually was able to find his way back home on his own. He always wore a stainless steel necklace with a large gold encased amulet and a big diamond ring on his left middle finger.
However the diamond-encrusted gold ring is missing and his family suspects he might have been robbed and killed and want this investigated.
Police said preliminary examination showed no signs of injury but his body had to undergo a detailed forensic examination at Siriraj Hospital to determine the cause of death before his relatives could take it back for a funeral.
CAPTION:
Police and volunteers at the pontoon pier where the retired goldsmith was found drowned. The Thai headline says, “Where is deceased man’s diamond ring?” Photo: Sanook.com
